


Going Down

by alvahana



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Family Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Light Angst, Mementos (Persona 5), Sibling Bonding, Side Story, Spoiler for Hierophant Confidant Rank 8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27041599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alvahana/pseuds/alvahana
Summary: Akira agreed to help Futaba steal the distorted heart of her money-grubbing uncle just the two of them, but the trip to Mementos didn’t go as planned.Without the team, it was up to Joker to save the young girl and himself.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	Going Down

Two months after Futaba Sakura had her heart stolen by the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and later joined the group, the teenage girl’s uncle, Youji Isshiki, showed up in café LeBlanc out of the blue. Isshiki had abused Futaba in the past and apparently been extorting Sojiro for money for the last couple of years. To add to that, the man was now threatening to sue Sojiro and even shut down LeBlanc for “assault” by Akira, leaving Futaba no other choice but to ask the leader to change the distorted desire of her uncle, before it was too late.

Futaba wanted to keep this between her and Akira though, saying it was a family matter and that she wasn’t ready to tell the others yet, not even Morgana. Akira understood and agreed, but couldn’t keep the nagging concern from his mind, as this meant they had to go down to Mementos behind their friends’ back, and take down the Shadow just the two of them.

Akira had calculated the risk. According to Futaba, Isshiki wasn’t some malicious criminal or cold-blooded killer, just a money-grubbing scum who didn’t care about his niece (though in Akira’s opinion, this was just as unforgivable as other crimes). From his experience, this type of target shouldn’t be too difficult to handle. And even without Skull and the rest of the team fighting by his side, he’d still have Oracle serving as the navigator. The two of them would be able to take care of Isshiki.

The plan was straightforward. Track down the Shadow, change his heart, and head out.

They just had to be extra careful.

——

At the entrance of Mementos, a quick scan by Oracle revealed that their target was on the fifth floor. Four levels down wasn’t too far. Getting there wouldn’t take much time under normal circumstances. Except now without Mona-bus as their means of transportation, Joker couldn’t maneuver around the enemies on their descent, meaning he would have to fight every single one of them.

One level down, the two Thieves had already encounter a dozen of Shadows, which thankfully were all weaklings, and Joker was able to kill them with just a few scrapes and nicks. Still, he was already unsettled by the frequency of magic used. He would have to avoid using spells too often to make sure he got enough left to face off Shadow Isshiki.

Running down the tracks of Mementos, Joker noticed it was actually the first time he went into the Metaverse without anyone fighting by his side. The feeling was strange...and exposed. Sure, Oracle was with him now, but she was more of a support member in the back, not actively participating in combat. He did accompany Yusuke with his inspiration trips a few months ago, but during those times he was merely acting as a bodyguard, fending off Shadows who tried to disrupt the artist’s creative process, not actively pursuing a target.

His train of thought were interrupted by another enemy looming around the corner. Luckily its back was facing them, so Joker swiftly jumped onto its shoulders to tear off its mask, which turned into two hideous Shadows.

“Joker, they’re immune to both guns and physical attacks,” Oracle informed him. That meant he had to use magic. Again. Joker cursed under his breath as he called up a Persona to deliver a wind spell and then a finishing strike, successfully killing both enemies.

By the time they reached the floor where the target was supposed to be, Joker found both his energy and stamina running low. He took a healing drink to restore his energy to a more decent level, and did a mental count on his inventory – both HP and SP restorative items had depleted quickly than he had anticipated. He had to be cautious about using them and summoning Persona from now on.

“Joker? You okay?” Oracle asked.

Joker nodded while trying to give her a reassuring smile. “Nothing to worry about.” He didn’t want to worry her – coming down here facing Shadow Isshiki was already stressful enough for the girl.

“Is he near?”

“Yep,” Oracle seemed to be unaware of his concern. “Just down the corridor and a right turn.”

——

When Joker and Oracle found Shadow Isshiki, he was grumbling to himself – about Futaba being a burden and Sojiro not giving him enough money. The instant he noticed the two intruders, his expression turned malicious and burst into a puddle of black liquid before revealing its true form, Girimekhala.

As soon as the battle began, Oracle sent a buff Joker’s way to boost his strength and defense. Unfortunately, the Shadow made having an easy battle impossible. While its HP was unexpectedly high and healed itself regularly, its physical attacks were extremely strong too. Taking merely a hit had taking down a quarter of Joker’s strength, even with the buff. It could be dangerous if the battle was dragged on for too long. However, not knowing the enemy’s weakness yet, Joker didn’t want to waste magic either.

“Joker, I just found out it’s weak to ice and fire!”

The new information allowed Joker to change his tactics _._ He ripped off his domino mask to call up Byakko, and beckoned forth pillars of ice, to which the enemy immediately succumbed to.

Alternating between physical attacks and magic, he managed to take down a chunk of the Shadow’s strength. But the leader was not a lot better as he had taken a few blows himself, and casting Diarama on himself could mean he wouldn’t have enough magic to fire off heavy attacks to defeat the Shadow.

“Be careful, Joker! Your stats are running low!”

 _I’m really cutting it close this time._ Joker gritted his teeth as he hold off the healing and prepared for another round of magic attacks. A couple more of fire or ice spells should be able to bring the monster down permanently.

What Joker didn’t expect was the Shadow suddenly abandoning physical attacks, and instead cast off Maeigaon, a heavy almighty spell. He was about to duck to the side, but then noticed the assault was going to miss him by an inch. No, it wasn’t meant for him at all. It was meant for someone behind him.

“Oracle!”

There was no time to call up a Persona and cast a spell to deflect the blow. He had to act instantly.

——

Oracle’s attention was brought up by Joker’s voice. She saw the white beam emitted from the Shadow, and noticed only a moment later that it was twirling down toward her. Before she could react, a black figure dashed in front of her and shoved her away.

She saw the spell hitting Joker directly in the chest, driving him into the wall far in the back with a loud impact before the leader dropped to the ground.

“J-Joker!”

Joker wasn’t moving.

 _I have to heal him quick!_ Futaba thought, but she could hear the Shadow cackled behind her, and she froze in the spot. Her body wouldn’t listen to her all of a sudden.

Shadow Isshiki was approaching her with a sickening grin, his sinister expression reminding her of her uncle. Suddenly, all she could see was the man’s face. All she could hear was his voice. Panic rose within Futaba.

The monster raised its hand, preparing to fire out another round of Maeigaon at her.

“DO NOT TOUCH HER!”

The voice brought Futaba back to the present. She snapped back to see Joker struggling to get up. His legs could barely support his body as his eyes glowed crimson from a deadly expression. With a shaking hand, he pressed on his mask, which morphed into blue flames before transforming into Baphomet. The Persona loomed above him like the Death.

“Agidyne!” Joker snarled through gritted teeth. Hellish flame bloomed and fled across the battlefield. Caught off guard, the Shadow could only screamed as it perished into wisps of black dust, and finally changing back into its human form.

Baphomet disappeared behind Joker and his knees gave out almost immediately.

“J-Joker!” Oracle rushed to his side. “Akira!”

“Futaba, are you hurt?” Akira, lying on his side, asked breathlessly.

“N-no…but you are!”

“…It’s not that b-bad…I’ll be fine.” Joker had his hand wrapped around his stomach, his breathing slightly labored. At a closer look, Oracle could see a collection of scrapes across his torso. She promptly cast a healing spell on him, but hers was not as powerful as Mona’s and could only revive a small part of the leader’s energy.

Thankfully they still had some of Dr. Takemi’s medicines left. But Joker declined to take any of them.

“We still have to go back up. I’d rather saving them for when we really need it.” Oracle was about to protest, but Joker was already trying to stand on his wobbling legs, so she helped him up as best as she could. They walked slowly back to Shadow Isshiki, who seemed utterly broken and was mumbling under his breath.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry…”

As Isshiki confessed that he recklessly gambled all of his money out of jealousy for Wakaba's success, Futaba found herself not caring much about it. She was more worried about Akira’s condition and was eager to get out of Mementos as soon as possible. Eventually, her uncle finished talking and disappeared, leaving only a saber behind.

——

They only ran into a few weak shadows on their way up. Joker, still feeble from the previous fight, somehow managed to kill them in a few strikes without taking any hit. But by the time they reached the entrance, he was thoroughly worn out and nearly collapsed if Oracle wasn’t there to catch him in time.

With Futaba’s help, the two made it back to LeBlanc after dawn. The trip left both of them exhausted – Akira for the prolonged fights, and Futaba for carrying half of his weight with one of his arms on her shoulders and going through the emotional roller coaster.

“Damn, kids. You both look _awful_.” Sojiro frowned at the two ragged teenagers who just entered the café.

Akira was only able to hum in response. Futaba lowered her eyes guiltily, looking like she was about to cry.

Sojiro took that as a hint to hold back his questions. His curiosity and lecture could wait until the kids were in better shape, both physically and mentally. With a gentle pat on the girl’s shoulder, he took over her position to support Akira.

Walking up the stairs leading to the attic sent a full pain through the injured boy’s body, as he couldn’t help but groaned along the way. Futaba, unsure how to help, hovered helplessly behind them. In the end, Sojiro was able to lower his charge on the bed in one piece. Morgana chose this moment to announce his return from wherever he'd been by jumping onto the windowsill.

“Where have you be…WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO YOU!?” Sojiro could guess what the cat was babbling about just from his frantic meow.

“Not now, Morgana. Let him rest first.”

Morgana protested with another meow and proceeded to staring at Akira in concern. Sojiro found a pair of clean pajama for Akira and ushered the girl and the cat downstairs to give the boy privacy. He poured Futaba an extra-large portion of curry – even though she didn’t seem to have much of an appetite – before going back up to check on Akira, who was already in his pajama and fast asleep.

——

_It was a terrible idea to go to Mementos without backup._

That was the first thought that popped into Akira’s mind when he woke up the next morning, his whole body protesting with spasms of pain. He couldn’t recall what exactly happened after he and Futaba left Mementos the day before, just bits and pieces of the girl dragging his torso back to LeBlanc. He was out cold ever since and didn’t even get up for dinner.

Thankfully, after a cup of coffee and a plate of curry (bless the wonderful Boss), Akira was feeling more like himself at the moment. His muscle and joints were still sore, but at least he wouldn’t be keeling over anytime soon.

“You know you’ll have to tell me what happened yesterday eventually.” Morgana pestered as Akira finished up the remaining coffee.

“I know, Morgana,” Akira sighed. “But I need to check in with Futaba first.” He ignored the cat’s scowl and opened the private chat with her on his phone.

 **Akira:** Futaba, are you up?

 **Futaba:** …you feeling better?

 **Akira:** Yeah

 **Akira:** Thanks to a twelve hour sleep and Boss’ coffee and curry

 **Akira:** Morgana keeps asking me about yesterday though

 **Akira:** I didn’t tell him anything, don’t worry

 **Futaba:** …thanks

 **Akira:** You wanna come over later and play some video game together?

_Futaba is typing…_

_Futaba is typing…_

**Futaba:** maybe another day

_Futaba is now offline._

Akira furrowed his brows as he gazed on the screen. It wasn’t like Futaba to be so quiet in a chat or pass up a chance to beat him in video game. Something was bothering the girl, and Akira decided to go find out what.

——

Akira waited until afternoon arrived before he asked Sojiro’s permission to venture into the Sakura residence.

“Don’t go out for too long. You still look like you’re dead on your feet.” Sojiro said as he handed him the keys to the house.

A quick glance at the living room told him Futaba wasn’t there, so he headed for her bedroom and gently knocked on the door.

“Futaba? You in there?”

There was no response. Akira could see light coming through the door gap, so he waited another moment and called again. “Futaba?”

“…Yeah.”

“Um, can I come in?”

There were some shuffling sound inside, then came another soft response. Akira slowly opened the door.

Futaba was sitting on her bed, hugging her legs close to her chest. It was obvious the girl had been crying – her eyes, refusing to meet Akira’s, were red-rimmed and her cheeks were flushed.

Unsure how to approach, Akira sat down at the desk chair. For a minute neither of them said anything.

“Are you mad at me?” Futaba asked out of the blue, eyes still casting downward. He felt like he had missed parts of the conversation.

“Why would I be mad?”

“Be-Because…” Futaba chewed her lips and sniffed as she continued. “I basically forced to you into Mementos with me, by asking you to keep it a secret from Mona and the others...”

Akira shook his head. “No, Futaba, of course I’m not mad.” The girl seemed to relax a bit at that.

“I knew the risk of going there and facing that Shadow without backup.” Akira continued. “If there’s any reason I regret making that decision, that’d be bringing you with me and putting you in danger. I’m sorry-”

“No! You shouldn’t be the one to apologize!” Futaba’s eyes finally looked up to meet his. Tears were starting to gather at the corners of her eyes. “I was the one who dragged you in there!”

“But I should have gone there alone.” His voice was tainted with regret and guilt. “I promised Sojiro I’d keep you safe…I shouldn’t have let you come.”

“Even if you’ve banned me, I’d still follow you secretly.”

“Futaba, you could’ve been seriously hurt…”

“And _you_ were the one who got injured in the end, Akira! Because of _me_!”

“I-It’s my job to protect you-”

“S-So it’s bad if I’m hurt, but it’s okay for you to?” Futaba growled, her face burning red.

Akira blinked at her sudden rage. Unsure how to respond, Akira moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, right next to the girl. He took a deep breath, trying to make sure he would come out comforting.

“I’m alright now, Futaba.”

At that, the floodgates holding Futaba’s tears opened. She buried herself into Akira’s chest. “When you got hit by the Shadow an-and didn’t get up, I-I was so scared! I can’t lose you…n-not you too, not after Mom…”

A tight knot formed on Akira’s chest. As the leader of the Phantom Thieves, he had always put the safety of his teammates first, even if it meant putting himself in danger. But he didn’t know him being hurt would scare the girl that much.

“You won’t lose me, Futaba. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.” He placed a hand on her back, gently rubbing circles, hoping it would soothe her.

Futaba gasped for breath and managed to get a word between muffled sobs. “…P-Promise?”

“Promise.” Akira patted the girl’s head. “I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Futaba nodded into Akira’s chest.

“I’ll do my best to not get my butt kicked too often.” He added with a smirk, which was rewarded by a teary giggle.

After a few minutes, the sobs died down and Futaba wiped her eyes free of tears and lifted her head. “I’ll try not to freeze up again during battle too…”

“Don’t worry. We got the best teammates to fight by our side and back us up. With Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto and Haru, I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

“Yeah! You’re right!” With that, Futaba seemed to have returned to her gleeful self. She jumped out of her bed and onto the chair. “I think I’ve just obtained my Key Item! Hehee!”

“Key Item?”

“Yep. You, Akira Kurusu, are the Key Item in my inventory belt!” Futaba announced cheerfully, and then swiveled the chair to face her computer screens, absorbed into her own world and forgot about Akira all of a sudden.

Akira chuckled and shook his head as a fuzzy warmth settled in his chest. In his mind, he made a promise to himself: He wouldn’t make the girl worry like that ever again, and from now on, would learn to better protect himself for the people he cared about.

**Author's Note:**

> So I was freaking out a bit during my first playthrough when I learned Joker and Oracle were to go into Mementos and clear the request alone, hence this fic!
> 
> This is officially the longest fanfiction I’ve ever written (still so much shorter than a lot of amazing fics out there, I know). I hope I got the pace and everything alright. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading!


End file.
